The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 118, No. 18, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 1, 2008 Page: 4 of 36
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Hemphill County Area Newspapers and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Hemphill County Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
THURSDAY 1 MAY 2DDS
THE CANADIAN RECORD
INTRODUCING
THE CANDIDATES
FDR HEMPHILL CDUNTY UNDERGROUND WATER CDNSERVATIDN DISTRICT BDARD
In an effort to introduce voters to the candidates in
two contested elections slated for May 10, The Record
invited each candidate to share a little biographical
information and to address a few general questions
related to the offices they seek.
For water district candidates: What do you feel is
your role on the groundwater district board of direc-
tors? How will your election to the board affect the
management of groundwater in Hemphill County?
How important do you think it is to retain local con-
trol of groundwater management?
For city council candidates: What is the most important issue that faces
the City of Canadian today, and how will you address it, if elected? What
experience(s) or skill(s) uniquely qualify you for the job of Councilman?
Ideally, how would the Canadian we know in 2008 differ from the Cana-
dian we will know in 2018? What will you do to make that happen?
Here, on pages 4-5 and on pages 10-11, are their responses:
Early voting is underway
in May 10th local elections
With early voting In the May 10th elections
underway since last Monday, all indications are
that both the school bond issue and water dis-
trict elections are drawing intense voter inter-
est. In the first week of balloting, 65 votes were
cast in the school district's $14 million bond
election and 59 in the first contested election
for the Hemphill County Underground Water
Conservation District board of directors. The
City Council race has attracted 14 early votes.
Early voting continues through Tuesday,
May 6. Three two-year terms on the City
Council and two four-year terms on the Wa-
ter District board are up for grabs. In addition,
voters are being asked to determine the fate of
the school's fourth and largest bond issue since
Texas' current school finance legislation was
enacted, forcing property wealthy districts
like Canadian ISD to send significant portions
of their tax revenues to the state for redistribu-
tion to poorer school districts.
In the City election, four men are vying for
three seats on the Council. Three incumbents—
Milton Cooke, Rob Talley and Bob Lusk—are
seeking re-election, while Scott Scroggins is
seeking his first term. Two vacancies will be
filled on the underground water district board.
Four candidates—Beth Ramp Sturgeon, Mon-
ty Markham, Eddie George and Melvin Wals-
er—are vying for those places.
Early voters in the water district and school
bond issue elections may cast their ballots Mon-
day through Fr iday between the hours of 8:30
a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the School Administration
Building. Early voters in the City Council elec-
tion may cast their ballots at City Hall Monday
through Friday between the hours of 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m. The City office will be open to voters
for special extended hours on Thursday and
Friday, May 1-2, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. On May
10th, all three elections will be conducted in
one polling place—the Canadian High School
Foyer, where the doors will open at 7 a.m. and
close at 7 p.m.
Dear Valued Customers,
Sunday May 25th will be the last day O
we will be open for business on Sundays.
We know Sundays are a great day for eating out at
the Cattle Exchange. Due to rising costs, and a
severe labor shortage we are forced to close one
day a week. Thank you for understanding our Steaks * Mesquite Griii. Bar-B-Q
position on this matter and we apologize for any
inconvenience this may cause. Should our costs fall back in line and
we recover from the current labor shortage we will resume business
as usual on Sundays. 1
1 Sincerely,
Milton & Julie Cooke
MELVIN WALSER
Melvin Walser is a native of Hemphill Coun-
ty, born seventy-two years ago in the old hospi -
tal that has since become a home and one of Ca-
nadian's historical reference points. Except for
a two-year Army stint and ten years employed
11 Lubbock as a design engineer for Clark
Equipment, Walser has lived here his entire
life. With an extended family of 57 children,
grandchildren, and step-children and -grand-
children —several of whom have married and
moved back to Canadian—he is as concerned
about the future of this County's water supply
as he is about its present state.
Walser returned from Lubbock in 1975 to
become a farmer and rancher on land partly
nherited from his father, and partly acquired
by him and his second wife, JuciL He farms and
runs some cattle, and admits that his use of
some irrigation "might be a little bit of help or
hindrance as far as the water board."
He is concerned about conserving water,
and acknowledges the need for all of the coun-
ty's citizens to do their part in any conserva-
tion effort. "I'm currently concerned with the
amount of water usage and waste by the oil
companies," Walser said, but adds quickly.
"That's not to say the rest of us can't do better
also. There's not a one of us who can't conserve
a little bit more water, me included."
Walser said he is running for the Hemp-
hill County Underground Water Conservation
District board because after conversing with
current board members, "I saw a need to keep
up the good work they've done, and try to im-
prove on that. I want to keep our water here in
Hemphill County for our use and for our future
generations."
"I'm not very receptive to sending water
to somebody else downstate when they won't
even conserve water that they have in their
back door," Walser said. "As far as I can, I want
to conserve more. I want to do what I can to get
legislation passed to help keep the water here
in the county, quite frankly, so we can have wa-
ter for future use."
Water is not an infinite commodity, Wals-
er said, but it is a valuable one. "When you get
right down to it, when you get thirsty, do you
go to a gas pump or a water fountain? This is a
life-saving commodity that we have here. We
can walk f we had to...but we sure can't drink
anything but water and do us good."
Walser believes local control of groundwa-
ter management is important. "I don't like to
see control come from the state or any other
government entity," he said. "There's a lot of
times that we don't get the right legislation con-
cerning what we need here."
Efforts by water marketers to buy up
Hemphill County water rights for eventual
export elsewhere do not appeal to Walser. He
won't sign them, he said, "and furthermore, I
do not want to give any. I feel that the persons
who have sold their water have sold their birth-
right....They thought they got a lot out of it, but
they gave it away. I think we're going to realize
it later on."
Walser said he would appreciate everyone
getting out and voting on May 10. "I know this
is not just a real big political election," he said,
"but it's the only way they're going to tell the
water board: if we don't use it, we're going to
lose t. And I guarantee there would be a lot
of people up in arms if they lost [their water],
they'd sure howl."
EDDIE GEDRGE
Eddie George, 79, has lived in Hemphill
County his whole life. He graduated from Bris-
coe High School, studied agriculture at West
Texas University, and then returned to the
now 235-acre farm along Gageby Creek that
his grandfather had settled in 1886. He and
his late wife, Helen, raised three children—
Lee, Amy and Holly—all of whom have moved
away but maintain their ties to the family farm
where George raises wheat and thoroughbred
horses.
"I've lived on Gageby Creek for 79 years,"
George said, explaining why he is running for
the board of directors of Hemphill County's
Underground Water Conservation District.
"I don't want to see it messed up. We need to
take care of our water and keep it here. I don't
want it sent to Amarillo or Dallas or Timbuktu.
That's why I'm running."
George said he believes this single-county
water district is doing good things and trying
to protect and preserve the water in this area.
His neighbor, Lee Haygood, has served on the
board for several years and retires this year,
and if elected, George said he intends to pickup
where Haygood left off.
"We're small," George said. "We don't bore
with a big auger. We're not trying to attract a lot
of attention, and I don't have an axe to gr i nd."
George said his grandfather settled along
the creek over a hundred years ago, and he
wants to look after the creek so that it's here a
hundred years from now.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Brown, Laurie Ezzell. The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 118, No. 18, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 1, 2008, newspaper, May 1, 2008; Canadian, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth252702/m1/4/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hemphill County Library.